Seal-lock.



G. W. GILL. SEAL LOOK.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1909.

962, 827'. A Patented June 28, 1910.

A TTORW E Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. GILL, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

SEAL-LOCK.

Speccation of Letters Patent. Patented J 11113 28, 1910,

Application led September 27, 1909.

Serial N0. 519,837.

To all whom it may concern:

=Be it known that I, CHARLES W. GILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seal-Locks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in seal-locks, and has for itsobject to provide novel and simple means for securing the doors offreight cars to prevent entry and the disturbing of the contents of thecar without destroying or removing the seal.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a cheap, effectiveand quick-acting car door lock and seal, especially adapted for securingthe doors of box-cars and other receptacles used for carrying or storingfreight or other valuable articles, the construction, arrangement andapplication of the device being such that all of the movable or workingparts are hid from view when the car door is closed and thus concealedfrom the weather, dust and dirt, and out of reach of meddlesome persons.v

The invention relates particularly to an improvement in the devicesshown and described in my United States Patent No. 907,990, bearing dateDecember 29, 1908.

The invention consists of the features and parts set forth in the detaildescription which follows, and as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which- Figurel is a part side elevation of a freight car, showing a portion of thedoor and a portion of the wall of the car having my improved seal-lockapplied. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2of Fig. 1, showing the construction and arrangement of the principalparts of the seal-lock. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section through thelock and seal, substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a planview of the hasp and one of the plates forming the pocket. Fig. 5 is adetail view of the sealing-pin.

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawing, 2 represents a hasp, having an elongated eye or slot 3formed through its enlarged free end, its opposite end perforated toreceive a rivet or bolt 4., by means of which the hasp is pivotallyattached to a stationary supporting bar 5, which in turn is rigidlysecured to the inner side of the car door 6, by a series of bolts 7. Asmall angular plate 9 is shown to cooperate with the bar to form a forkto receive the end of the hasp and by means of which the hasp is limitedto vertical move-A ment only. A hinge connection (not shown) may beemployed instead of the fork, and render the hasp equally effective.

10 and 11 represent oppositelyfacing lnetallic parts, preferablyembedded in a mortise or cavity 12 formed in the car wall 13. The cavity12 has its open end facing the door opening, and disposed so as toregister with and to receive the hasp 2 when extended in horizontalposition, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The plate 10 is preferablyformed as shown in Figs. 3 and l with a large shallow recess which facesthe outer side of the car, and the plate 11 is formed with acorresponding inwardly facing recess. The recesses of the two platesforming a pocket A into which the free end of the hasp enters and lieswhen the car door is closed. The' mouth of `this pocket is enlarged orflared to facilita-te the entering and guiding of the hasp. The plates10 and 11 may be secured to the car wall in any suitable manner, or byscrews, as 14, 14.

The lock comprises a number of novel parts which I will now describe:The plate or part 11 is provided with an integral drawn or castoutwardly extending neck or socket 15, preferably tubular in form, whichpasses through a suitable hole and extends some distance beyond theouter surface of the wall 13. Within the socket 15, I dispose alock-bolt 17, having a stem 19, the free end of which is bent at rightangles to the bolt to form a fngercatch which passes out through aslotted opening 20 in the upper side of the socket, and projectssufliciently to allow the latch to be lifted with the finger against thetension of the spring 21, for the purpose of releasing and permittingthe withdrawal of the hasp 2 from the pocket. By the use of the coilspring 21 the latch-bolt 17 is normally held in position for locking andholding the hasp. The end of the bolt 17 is beveled on the side facingthe door, to permit the insertion and locking of the hasp without anyother manipulation. Under this arrangement the inner movement of thehasp forces the bolt 17 outwardly and holds it in this position untilthe eye 3 is brought into register with the bolt, when the latter actingunder the force of the spring enters the eye and eects the locking ofthe car door. The plate 10 is perforated, as at 18, at a point oppositethe bolt 17 to permit the end of the bolt to pass through the plate, forpreventing the bolt from being wrenched out of place by any pull orstrain applied to the hasp or car door.

To seal my improved car door lock, the opposite walls of the socket 15are perforated, as at 22, to receive a temporary leaden sealing-pin 23,which may only be inserted when the latch-bolt 17 is in locking position(shown in Figs. 2 and The disposi- .tion of the sealing pin 23, when setin place is such that it barely clears the stem 19 of the latch-bolt,and prevents the latter from being moved or Withdrawn from the eye ofthe hasp, as long as the sealing-pin is in place. As shown and describedin my former patent referred to, I prefer, in the present case, toemploy a sealing-pin consisting of a leaden part incased in a steeljacket, so as to render the portion of the pin which passes' through thesocket 15 stiff and rigid as compared with the soft and pliable lead.After the sealingpin has been inserted in the socket, the opposite endsare preferably upset to forni heads 24, to prevent the removal of theseal and the opening of the car door except by a special device operatedby an authorized person.

To protect my lock and seal against the weather, dust and dirt, and alsoto insure the same against meddling and tampering, I provide a shield25, which is so arranged that when mounted on the car it forms acovering for the lock which is closed on all sides except that facingthe ground. The shield is provided with flanges on three sides whichrest upon the outer side of the car wall, the anges being perforated toreceive bolts or screws 26, which pierce the wall 13, the nutspreferably being placed on the opposite or inner side of the wall. Thebolts 7 employed for securing the hasp support 5 are preferably appliedin the same manner as the bolts 26. The shield 25 may be attached to theouter end of the socket 15 of the lock in any suitable manner, or as bya screw or rivet 27.

The dotted lines in Fig. 4 indicate how the hasp 2 may be swung on thepivot 4, out of the way, while the car is being loaded and unloaded.

The operation of my improved lock and seal is extremely simple; after acar has been loaded, the hasp 2 may be swung from the position shown bydotted lines in Fig. 4, to the position shown in full lines, and thenthe door may be closed. As the door approaches the lock side of theopening, the hasp enters the pocket A. When the end of the hasp strikesthe bevel of bolt 17, the latter yields outwardly against the tension ofspring 21 and allows the hasp to finish its travel.

When the door comes against the stop, as 29, the bolt 17 enters the eye3 of the hasp and locks and holds the hasp and door from movement ineither direction. If the door has only been closed temporarily, asbetween intervals of loading and unloading, the person in charge mayrelease the latch-bolt 17 by inserting a finger beneath the shield 25and lifting the projecting end of stem 19 which extends through theslotted opening 20 in the socket 15, and thus release the hasp. If,however, the car is loaded and ready for transportation and it isdesired to lock and seal the doors, the person in charge may take asealing-pin 23 (see Fig. 5), and insert it through the socket 15 (seeFig. 2), and then with a suitable instrument he may upset the ends ofthe pin to form the heads 24, to prevent the loss or displacementy ofthe seal. The insertion and upsetting of the sealingpin as described,owing to the position of the pin, it being directly over the stem of thelatch-bolt 17, the pin will prevent the bolt from being withdrawn fromthe eye of the hasp until the sealing-pin is ejected or removed. Theposition of the pin 23 and the arrangement of the shield 25, in relationto the socket 15 are such that a special seal ejector must be employedto remove the pin so as to permit the withdrawing of the bolt 17 and theopening of the car door.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A seal lock, comprising a plate mounted on the inner wall of a car, atubular socket formed in said plate and passing outwardly through thewall, a haspA pivotally secured to the inner side of the car door in amanner to adapt it for vertical movement into and out of operativeposition, the free end of the hasp having a slotted eye adapted toregister with the tubular socket when the door is closed, a latch-boltin said socket, one end of said bolt projecting outside of the ear walland having an integral finger catch, the opposite end of said boltprojecting inwardly through said plate and normally disposed in the pathof the hasp, and a spring adapted to force and normally hold thelatch-bolt in the eye of the hasp for automatically locking the car doorin closed position.

2. A seal lock, comprising a plate mounted on the inner wall of a car, atubular socket formed on said plate and passing through the wall, a hasppivotally secured to the inner side of the car door and having a slottedeye adapted to coincide with the tubular socket when the door is closed,a latch-bolt in said socket, a spring adapt-ed to force and normallyhold the latch-bolt in the eye of the hasp for locking the car door whenclosed, and a sealing-pin capable of being inserted transversely throughthe 'socket for preventing the withdrawal of the latch-bolt and theopening of the door.

3. A car door lock, comprising two oppositely recessed plates disposedin a mortise in the wall of a car adjacent the car door opening, therecesses of said plates forming a pocket the mouth of which faces thecar door opening, one of said plates having an integral socket extendingthrough and beyond the outer wall of the car, a latch-bolt disposed insaid socket and projecting into said pocket, a spring to normally holdsaid latch-bolt in locking position, a hasp pivotally mounted on theinner side ofthe car door, said hasp having an eye adapted to receivethe latch-bolt when the door is closed, means for withdrawing thelatch-bolt from the eye of the hasp by hand, and a pin adapted to beinserted through the socket to prevent the unlatching of the hasp andthe opening of the door.

4. The combination with a car and a car door, of a hasp pivotallymounted on the inner side of the door capable of adjustment vertically,a lock comprising a pair of recessed plates disposed in the wall of thecar, the said plates forming a pocket for receiving and concealing thehasp when the door is closed, one of said plates having a socket whichpierces the outer wall of the car, the said socket opening into thepocket, a latch-bolt in said socket, one end of the latch-bolt extendinginto the pocket and adapted to pierce the eye of the hasp, the other endof the latch-bolt passing through the wall of the socket and terminatingin a finger-catch, anda spring in said socket adapted to normally forceand hold said latch-bolt in the eye of the hasp for locking the cardoor.

5. The combination with a car and a car door, of a hasp pivotallymounted on the door capable of adjustment vertically, a. seal lockcomprising a pair of recessed plates disposed in the wall of the car,the said plates forming a pocket for receiving the hasp when the door isclosed, one of said plates having a socket which pierces the outer wallor' the car, the said socket opening into the pocket, a latch-bolt insaid socket, one end of the latch-bolt extending through the pocketadapted to pierce the eye of the hasp, the other end passing through thewall of the socket and terminating in a nger-catch, a spring in saidsocket adapted to normally force and hold said latch-bolt in the eye ofthe hasp Jfor locking the car door, and a sealing-pin capable of beinginserted transversely through the socket for preventing the withdrawalof the latch-bolt and the opening of the door.

6. A seal lock, comprising a plate mounted on the inner wall of a car, atubular socket formed in said plate and passing through the wall, a hasppivotally secured to the inner side of the car door and having a slottedeye adapted to register with the tubular socket when the door is closed,a latch-bolt in said socket, a spring adapted to force and normally holdthe latch-bolt in the eye of the hasp for locking the car door whenclosed, and a shield mounted on the car wall for sheltering andconcealing the socket.

7. A car door lock, comprising a hasp and a support therefor mounted onthe inner side of a car door, the free end of the hasp having anelongated eye, a pair of oppositely recessed plates set in a mortise inthe wall of the car, and forming a pocket adapted to receive the freeend of the hasp when the door is closed, one of said recessed platesprovided with a tubular neck which passes through the wall of the car, alatchbolt disposed concentrically in said neck, said latch-bolt having astem, the free end of which is bent and passes out through a slot insaid neck, a spring to normally hold the latch-bolt in position toengage and lock the hasp when the latter is inserted in the pocket, anda sealing-pin capable of being inserted through the neck and adapted toprevent the withdrawal of the latch-bolt and the opening of the cardoor.

8. A car door lock, comprising a hasp and a support therefor mounted onthe inner side of a car door one end of the hasp having an elongatedeye, a pair of recessed plates set in the wall of the car, and forming apocket to receive the hasp when the door is closed, one of said platesprovided with a tubular neck which passes through the wall of the car, alatch-bolt disposed concentrically in said neck, said latch-bolt havinga stem, which passes out through a slot in said neck, a spring to forceand normally hold the latch-bolt in positionto engage and lock the haspwhen the latter is inserted in the pocket, a sealing-pin adapted toprevent the withdrawal of the latchbolt and the opening of the car door,anda shield for concealing the socket and sealing-pin.

In testimony whereoi` I aiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. GILL. lVitnesses E. C. WRIGHT, HARRY DE WALLACE.

